4 Months Old!

Collin always on left and Casey always on right.

Collin has become the sweetest baby! He coos, smiles and sings to anyone who will listen. He will charm the pants off of any lady who crosses his path. He still is very demanding when it comes to meal time, and no one is in doubt when this kid is hungry.

Casey is more bashful. He talks to Rian and I all the time, but is wary of strangers until he is good and warmed up. He L-O-V-E-S his brother Cameron and tries to watch his every move. He has finally grown out of the major barfing spells and hasn't projectiled for two weeks (knock on wood)!

Thoughts on Bed Rest

I did have to go on strict bed rest almost two weeks ago. I had another (third) pre-term labor scare. This one landed me in the hospital for two nights and three days. I had to take a LOT of meds to stop contractions and get steroid injections in case the babes did come early. This way their lungs, heart and brain would be protected. While in the hospital, I got an ultrasound from the perinatologist (the preemie doctor basically). There was a certain level of concern because the smaller baby boy didn't have as much fluid around him as the bigger guy. Because of all these things adding up, I was put on strict bed rest. Staying in bed or my recliner most of the day, getting up to go to the bathroom, shower and walk around to make sure my circulation stays flowing.

We did get a follow-up this week and the fluid looked better, so the bed rest is working. But that doesn't mean I get to go off of it anytime soon. I get checked every week from here on out.

But... There are definite plusses and minuses to bed rest. Here they are:

1. It isn't as fun as it sounds. Everyone says "oh you get to watch tv all day and stay in bed!". It's good for about two days and then you have to practically beg your husband to drive you somewhere so you can get a view of the outside world that isn't from your bedroom window. Also, there are many hours during the day that there is nothing on tv. I have to rely on DVR during those times. I am starting to run low.

2. You are alone a lot. Rian goes to work, Cameron goes to my Mom and Dad's and to preschool (just started this week at our church). He wasn't going to start until fall, but they found out our situation and bumped him in! I do have a permanent little heating pad with my dog Nelly, she WILL NOT leave my side.

3. You gain weight faster. I have been very good about my weight gain, but the past two weeks I have gained a lot more. No where to go to burn it off I guess!

4. If you push it too hard one day, you are out of commission for almost two days after that. By pushing it too hard I mean, going to the doctor and dropping Cameron off at school. Tonight I am out of commission. I do not even have enough energy to go downstairs and get Cameron a glass of water.

5. You realize how valuable your husband and mom are. They have done everything for me. Everything. If I asked them to wipe me, they would. Of course they would tease me about it, but they would.

6. Cameron gives me a lot more kisses and hugs. I love it.

7. Rian got me a new iPhone. I play "Words with Friends" all day with about 10 different friends, family members and old students. That helps keep my brain going!

8. Texting is different than calling (ie. Communicating). Now most of you know I love a good text conversation. But...when you are scared and emotional and worried almost every time you stand up that your water might break, an actual phone call once in a while means a lot more than a text. Also, you can text me a thousand times that "I can call for anything." But the ones that mean the most are the "down to business texts and calls." For example, my mom called and said, "I am coming over to clean the bathrooms today, unlock your door.". Or Whitney called and said, "I am going to bring you Noodles for lunch. What do you want?". That means more because I don't have to think about it and it takes the pressure off.

9. Bed rest is a more serious situation than many people think. Read up on it before you say to me some asinine comments about it being fun and that myself and the babies are so big that if they did come now, they would be fine. Yeah, fine. After weeks in the NICU because even though they are big, they aren't fully developed. I do not want babies in a NICU if I can avoid it. You shouldn't either, because you won't get to see them for a long time.

Can you tell I had a bad day?

There is an end in sight. The babies will be here April 27th as long as the amniocentesis on the 26th shows that their lungs are mature. This means they will be delivered at 36 weeks and 2 days which makes me nervous, but I trust my doctor and the perinatologist whole heartedly.

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Don't know what to get your wife/baby momma for Christmas?

Dear Dads (or Moms who read this and then forward on to their husband),

I know what you can get your wife - from your child - that is special, easy, and can go on and on through many gift giving holidays.

A charm bracelet. Easy as that.

Start with Christmas and get the actual bracelet and just one charm. Then, as years go on, through Mother's Days, Birthdays and Christmas', your child can always just go and pick out a charm for Mommy and give it to her. It is seriously so easy.

Here is an example (I will use James Avery jewelry, however there are many more companies that sell charm bracelets. I like James Avery because they have an entire "Create Your Own Charm Bracelet" feature on their website):

Here is a nice starter bracelet to add charms to.

The medium twist bracelet in silver - $49.
Then add charms! Here are a few of my faves right now...

• The jingle bell charm (for Christmas)
• The Birthday Cupcake Charm
• The ABC Apple Charm (I am a teacher)
• The Popcorn Charm (I LOOOOVE going to the movies and eating popcorn for dinner with Rian)
• The Peace Charm (because I love Peace signs and anything peace really)
• The Initial J
• The Baby Shoes Charm (you can get names and birthdays engraved on the bottom!)
• The Flip Flop Charm (because it reminds me of summer and Mexico)

These are just a few I like, but really, if Cameron picks it out...I don't care what it looks like, I will love it!

Cameron's California Adventure

Rian and I wanted to take Cameron on a last hurrah before his brothers or sisters come and also while I was still comfortable traveling. We were supposed to go a few weeks ago, but had to reschedule because of some work related stuff. So we went this past weekend.

WE HAD A BLAST!

I found myself teary eyed a few times because of the fact that Cameron was so excited and smiling and glad to see everything.

So, without further ado, our trip to California...in pictures.

Cameron got his very own seat on the airplane. He was so excited to see the trucks and other planes.

So excited in fact, that he fell asleep 10 minutes after the plane took off and didn't wake up until about 10 minutes before we landed.

We are finally at Disneyland! We are taking the shuttle to Downtown Disney to get some dinner and explore. Cameron loved riding the buses almost more than he enjoyed the rides at Disneyland.

Waiting in line for dinner. Just chillin' with his hands in his pockets.

We ate dinner at a Mexican Restaurant located in Downtown Disney. They had a balloon artist and Cameron requested a shark. Funny story: On the way out of the restaurant, there was a group of 20-something year old girls. Cameron is carrying his shark, he walks by them, sees a girl and pretends the shark is biting her. He shoves the shark into her boobs and growls at her. Hilarious. The girls at the table all got a good laugh and of course told us how cute Cameron is. Mission accomplished.

Do you think we wore our little guy out? Airplane, bus, Downtown Disney, hitting on chicks, dinner = tired babe.

Most of the rides wouldn't allow photography during the ride. So a lot of our pictures are from waiting in line. This was our very first ride, "Pirates of the Carribean." Cameron was a tiny bit scared going down the little hills on the boat, but all of the characters and other stuff, he was just fine. If you were on our boat, you would of heard things like, "Oooohhh, look at that cute puppy." "Wow! Treasure!" "I don't want to get wet Mommy."

Being the boy he is, Cameron was more interested in the flying spaceships instead of the flying Dumbo ride. Daddy took him on this one while I put my feet up and rested a while.

Mommy and Cameron on one of Cameron's potential "favorites" for the day. He LOVED the carousel and cried when we had to get off. The other big favorite: The Jungle Cruise. The only ride that we actually rode twice that day.

Mommy and Cameron after "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride!"


Did I mention that the day we were there was the first day of Disney Christmas? It was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. The entire park was decorated in Christmas decorations. It was the first day of the Christmas parade. There was a giant Christmas tree. Above is Sleeping Beauty's castle. Do you see the snow on it? That was the first day! At 5:30 when it got dark, they did a lighting of the castle and made it snow in Disneyland! THEY MADE IT SNOW! The castle was lit up with millions of icicle lights.

One of the trees that I got a picture of in the park.

Disneyland all day. Drive to Oceanside right afterwards (about an hour and a half). What a trooper. He fell asleep in this position and didn't wake up when we changed his diaper, shirt or pants. He slept like a little rock. So did Rian and I.

Day 2. Sea World. We also ate lunch at In N' Out Burger before heading there...delicious as usual. We hit up Sea World and it was far from crowded. We felt like no one was there compared to Disneyland the day before. Here is Daddy and Cameron touching starfish!

Cameron waiting to see the Shamu show. We got there a bit early and were watching them play. There were 2 babies and 3 larger ones. You should have seen the babies playing. Jumping all over the place and entertaining us! Isn't Cameron's new Lighting McQueen hat from Disneyland cute? He has barely taken it off even to sleep the past four days.

Daddy and Cameron watching the Shamu show. They both thought it was hysterical when Shamu splashed everyone in the first few rows.

Shamu.

Daddy and Cameron after the show checking out Shamu up close.

Cameron loves sharks. He was very interested in this one.

The brand new dolphin show at Sea World. Pretty awesome. A bunch of dolphins, divers and crazy tricks!

When we were leaving Sea World, we saw these two people taking pictures of each other by their cars. We thought it was kind of funny, so we did the same. It was a beautiful view and sunset in the background, but there were a lot of cars too. Rian is obviously trying to be a serious model in this picture.

And last but not least...the view from our hotel in Oceanside. This was right across the street from us.

We had a glorious time in California. Now it is time for us to focus on getting ready for these twins.

Guess who is going to DISNEYLAND?

WE ARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are going over Fall Break next Saturday and I cannot wait!

Here is the amazing reason we get to go:

• Rian's parents got a free trip with their time share. It was at certain locations within the lower 48 states. They transferred it to us and all we had to do was pay $100 to reserve it!
• THAT IS A FREE HOTEL ROOM!
• This summer Rian and I went to St. Louis. On the way back, Southwest overbooked the flight. They made an announcement that they would hook you up with some stuff if you offered to take the later flight. I knew immediately that we could do it. Rian's parents were watching Cameron and we weren't going to get him until the next day anyways. I had heard or read somewhere that if you wait 3 times for them to announce and get people to take their bait, it get's sweeter. It sure did. Rian and I each got more than $500 worth of vouchers that we could use or transfer to someone else.
• THAT IS A FREE FLIGHT FOR ALL OF US!
• Rian travels a lot. When he travels he uses the same rental car company. He racked up so many miles this year, that he has tons of free rentals.
• THAT IS A FREE RENTAL CAR!

So, we are going to Cali for free! We can't wait, and we are already trying to talk up all of the rides that Disneyland has to offer to Cameron. He doesn't quite get it, but I think he is going to love it when we get there!

What's Going to Happen?

Cameron is doing and saying some of the funniest things lately! I write them down in a journal/baby book, but I thought some others might be interested too!

• Cameron HATED wearing anything on his head until about a month ago. Somehow, I convinced him that if he wore a hat, the sun would stay out of his eyes. This did the trick, and now almost every day for an entire month, he has worn a hat. This includes his CSU Ram hat, his Disney Squirt hat and a silly straw hat. He loves wearing them so much, he even wore the hat to take a nap in the other day. He will wear it backwards or forwards and it is so cute. He loves it so much that he even had to wear it to his uncle and (now) auntie's wedding rehearsal. I was terrified I wasn't going to get him down the aisle on wedding day without wearing one.

Cameron making a silly face while wearing his Squirt hat.
Cameron at the rehearsal dinner. I tried to class it up with some linen pants.

• When Cameron and I get home from work/school/daycare everyday, we walk in and immediately let the dogs out to go potty. Apparently, I was calling Macy "Honey" a lot. One day, we walk in and Cameron says, "Go outside Honey!" For the rest of the day he called Macy Honey and he still does it occasionally.
  
• He is TALL and has BIG feet. He almost wears a size 9 in shoes and on his 2nd Birthday he was 36 inches tall!
• Cameron growls, screams, hoots, hollers, etc. Whatever noise an animal makes, Cameron likes to pretend he is that animal too and will make the noises.
  
• He loves to play outside. One of his favorite weekend pastimes is picking up dog poo with his Daddy. Rian and I are not sure where he got that from, because neither of us like to pick up dog poo.

Cameron playing with his Daddy outside by the Fish Creek Falls in Steamboat this summer!

• He loves going to the zoo which is great because Rian's parents got us a membership for Cameron's birthday. We have it really timed out well so that we get to see the seal show and then go watch the Lions eat their lunch. Cameron grows at them to try to get their attention.

Cameron pointing to the Seals at the zoo with his cousin Noah.

• He loves babies. He loves to see real babies, he loves to play with his baby doll, he loves anything that has to do with him. His latest thing is getting his baby doll "Baby Kearney" and putting it to sleep on the pillow and covering it up with a KiKi so it doesn't get cold. He also thinks it is too funny when Rian or I cuddle with Baby Kearney.

Cameron playing with Baby Paul. We now refer to every baby we see as "Baby Paul".

• Cameron likes to dance! When he hears a beat he likes, he either starts jumping around or dancing. One of his and Daddy's favorite songs to dance to is Memories by David Guetta. This happened last night. The song came on, Cameron yelled "Yay!" and then said, "Shake your butt Mommy!" So cute.
• If we are watching Cars or Princess and the Frog for the 5 millionth time, Cameron will walk up to you and breathlessly whisper "What's going to happen?"
• My little dude still loves to cuddle with his Mommy and Daddy. You can tell when he is getting tired, because sometimes he will just come up to you with KiKi and sit in your lap, or he will ask. Or, he will ask if you want to lay down on the couch or in bed with him. It is very hard to say no to a little guy asking to cuddle with his Mommy or Daddy.

Cameron cuddling with Daddy after a long day.

• He sings along with us! He knows a few songs, so he tries to sing along with us. There is nothing more precious than hearing a little, sweet voice coming out of the backseat singing the "Elephant Song" with us.
  

I am Going to Make This...

I am a bridesmaid in Brett and Kristi's wedding in a few weeks. I am going to make one of those pretty ribbon, "jewely" headbands. I got navy ribbon to match my dress and diamond, button-like jewels. Here is a picture of something like what I am going to make. It is kind of a creepy picture, but it shows that I want to tie the ribbon like that at the bottom, and it isn't going to have to many jewels.

Tears (and tears, and tears, and tears) of JOY.

Here is a teaser picture from our recent family photo session.

To see more click HERE. Then follow Julie Harris' blog, she is a creative GENIUS.

I have a Really Good Looking Family

Check out my soon-to-be brother and sister-in-laws engagement photos HERE!

Aren't they awesome? I am SOOOOOOO jealous. My engagement photos aren't nearly as beautiful and artistic.

They are awesome Kristi and Brett! Can't wait for August 21st!